As of today, I have officially lived in Berlin, Germany for one full month. WHAT. I can't even really comprehend that. I applied to work to GoCorps last February. So I've been looking forward to this life for an entire year. So I want to write briefly on expectations.
If you have followed my blog at all, you know how much I was dying to be in Berlin. Every single blog post was about wanting to just be in Berlin already. All of that was totally genuine. If you know me at all, you've probably picked up the fact that I tend to romatinicize things a bit as well. So the combination of my desire to be a missionary in Berlin and my tendency to romanticize, lacked a bit of, should I say...reality? Before you continue to read, let me get it out there that this in no way a negative blog. I am absolutely loving my life here in Berlin. I am seeing God working in so many ways and I still believe more than ever that this is where God wants me. However, if you are anything like me, I want to warn you against expectations. Do I love living here? Absolutely. Is it different than what I expected? YES. Allow me to clarify. When I pictured my life in Berlin I think you could probably put all of my expectations on a Pinterest board. I thought my life was all of a sudden going to be this exciting whirlwind of adventure accompanied with radical missionary stories. While I'm sure there will be moments with those things, life is pretty much still life. And my purpose in Berlin is the same purpose I had in Branson or in Chattanooga: to be an ambassador for Christ. We are to be His workers wherever God has placed us on the earth. To love Him and love people. I'm slowly begining to try to understand why God chose me specifically and not someone else to be His ambassador in Berlin. But that's a whole other blog for another time. :)
I guess my point is to remember that God has a purpose for you where you are. Don't let your own dreams and fantasies of a pinterest life get in the way of what God has called you to do. My life in Berlin is not super trendy and glamorous, it's just life. And the Lord has placed me here to love people to Himself. And I couldn't be more grateful.
PS-The picture above is of the 4 of us GoCorps girls in our first Berlin team meeting! #Berlinnewbies